Atwater Brewery '90 percent sure' it will open Chicago location

DETROIT -- Add Chicago to the list of cities that has Atwater Brewery's attention when it comes to expansion plans.

The Chicago Tribune reports Atwater founder Mark Rieth is "90 percent sure" the Detroit brewery will expand to the Windy City by spring 2018. The founder and owner told the newspaper that the Chicago location would include a taproom, restaurant and outdoor beer garden.

"We've been studying the market in Chicago for more than a year, and it's a very important market," Rieth told the Tribune. "Our presence there is not what we want it to be. This would be the next step.

"We're not trying to be a Chicago brewery. We're trying to bring a little bit of Detroit to Chicago."

The Detroit-based brewery also has its eyes on Boston, and has plans to open "large" breweries in Austin, Texas and North Carolina in the next few years, Crain's Detroit Business reports.

Crain's reports these potential investments are part of a $15 million expansion to increase Atwater's capacity to 200,000 barrels by 2020. In 2014, the brewery produced 40,000 barrels of craft beer.

As for the Grand Rapids location, Atwater would house itself in a 120-seat dining area, a 20-stool bar and a 50-seat outdoor dining patio in the Arena District.

"Craft brewing is becoming a big business but it's a business about good times," Rieth said in a news release announcing new Atwater Beer labels. "Brewing it and coming up with these new flavors and personalities is part of the fun...We've been all about Detroit since we brewed our first German-styled lagers 18 years ago and said we wanted to 'bring Detroit everywhere.'"

Atwater Brewery is located near the Detroit Riverfront at 237 Joseph Campau Ave.

The riverfront location is open as a tap room Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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